Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson fanboys over UFC champion Dricus Du Plessis in surprise interview

In a recent interview shared by Happy Punch, Hollywood actor and former WWE champion Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was blown away when he realised he was being interviewed by UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis. 

The two stars shared insight into the world of professional fighting, and it all began with a surprising revelation.

Initially, Johnson did not know he was speaking to Du Plessis. However, once he realised, his reaction was priceless.

"Hold on a second. Holy s***! I didn't know it was you. I thought for a second, 'Wait, is that the chap?' Wait, oh, okay, no one told me. I was like 'God damn, he looks just like the guy', and then it's like, s***."

He continued: "Brother, it's great to see you and talk with you. You have done such a tremendous job. All of your fights and the build-up to your fights have always been amazing. You've always been delivering, good to see you."

Du Plessis humbly replied: "Thank you, I appreciate that so much."

In the interview, Johnson also talked about his upcoming film, "The Smashing Machine", in which he plays former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter and pioneer Mark Kerr.

He shared that the role pushed him to explore deeper personal emotions and experiences.

"I felt those emotions in my life and in my experiences growing up, but the roles that I've played in the past didn't require me to go that deep, and I mean that respectfully. It didn't require me to look at my own pain and trauma and all that kind of stuff that you go through as you roll along through life, that I had gone through. 

"I never really knew that 'Hey, there's going to be an opportunity to take all this s*** that I have dealt with, that I've bottled up, like a lot of men do, and put it somewhere, put it into a character, put it into a performance, and this was it.

"This was the first time that I was able to step on set, free from the infrastructure that was around me. Not thinking about what it might affect. For the first time, brother, I felt really at peace."

Johnson pointed out that being a fighter is about much more than the fame and accolades seen in the ring. 

"UFC or MMA fighters, the world knows who you are, and it's easy for the world to look at you and go, 'You got it made, you got it all, you have money, fame and titles'.

"It's hard for people to understand that you being in the cage is just minutes of your life, but then you have this other life where it's pressure and there's wins and losses, but then there's pressure, and that's the thing that we all have a challenge with.

"Whether you're an elite fighter or whoever, and it's that kind of pressure that we wanted to show."

He added that the movie aims to highlight the sacrifices made by fighters and their families: "We also wanted to show that the fighters sacrifice everything in the cage, but then it's the wives, girlfriends, kids, team, everyone sacrifices something.

"So in a way, we wanted to make this movie to let you know that we see you and we hear you and there's so much more to fighting than what really meets the eye and what people understand."

The conversation also turned lighter when Du Plessis asked Johnson whether he prefers entertaining fans or competing. 

"I would say, both. I'm a competitive guy, but ultimately there is nothing like entertaining people because life ain't easy and money ain't growing on trees and you know, people come to see you fight in the cage and they really just want you to entertain them, and that's a blessing. That's our greatest blessing. 

As their chat wrapped up, Johnson once again expressed his admiration for Du Plessis: "You're on top.

"You're doing so good. I'm such a fan of MMA. I'm so happy. I once considered it, but then, I hate getting hit in the face, thank God, because I wouldn't have made a good fighter, so you're living the dream, and I'm so happy for you. I look forward to seeing you fight, man."